Amusement slide



De@ 23, 1924.,v

H. AUPERL AMUSEMENT SLIDE Filed Aug. 4, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 9 e om@ APatented Dec. 23, 1924.

HARRY AUPERL, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

AMUSEMENT SLIDE.

Application filed August 4, 1924. Serial No. 729,896.

[o all 'whom 'it may concern.'

Be it 'known that I. HARRY .lL-fram.. a citizen of'the'United States. residing at Minneapolis. in the county ot' Hennepin and State of Minnesota. have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Amusement Slides; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full. clear. and exact description of thc invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an amusement device, particularly, to such a device adapted to be used adjacent a body of water. Such an amusement device will be used at a summer or pleasure resort where a body of water is available.

It is an object of this invention to provide an amusement device comprising an elevated support having a track running up and over said support. and downward therefrom'fin'to 'a body of water.`togetl1er with an Aqueduct leading from the body of water 'means and track suppmt.v a novel' n'eans for the boat and other novel tentures' to and into alinement with the 'end of the track' disposed away from said body of water, a boat adapted to run on said track being provided, together with means for elevating the boat on the track to the to of said support and releasing the same, an

.meansffor creating a current in said aqueduct.

It is a further object of the invention tol provide a novel structure of supporting elevatingr which will he fully set forth in ,thef'follou ne description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like'relfereiute characters refer to the same parts through` out the different views, and in which,

Fig. lis a generalperspective View of the device;

' Fig. 2 .is a view partly in central vertical section through the top of the support, and partly in side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectiontaken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, as indicated by the rows; A

Fig. 4 is a partial view in 'slide elevation of the lower art' of one-end 'of the track and boat 'elevaiiiing means, a portion of said view being' shown 1n vertical section;

Fig. ,'isa View in transverse vertical section'of the aqueduct used showing the boat thereiii; 'l'

i inf.)r downwardly Fig. 6 is a fragn'ientary viewin side elevation showing a modified form of stop used, Figs. 2 to 6 being,lr shown on an enlarged scale; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken substantially or the line 7-7 of Fig. l as indicated by the arrows.

The device of this invention is adapted to be used adjacent a' body of water. Reterriner to the drawings, particularly Fig. l, such a body of water adjacent the same are isposed two elevated supportingmembers 8. .lVhile any form of supporting members may2 be used, 1n the embodiment of thc invention illustrated, the members 8 are shown as in theyform of poles, such as lthe ordinary telegraph poles'- Disposed at the top of each of the members 8 is secured an arcuate rigid member 9 havingr its convex side directed upwardly. said members having horizontal cross`V pieces disposed as chords thereof which are bolted to the 'supports 8. The members 9 will preferably have grooves at their topand end portions and track cables 10 and 1l are secured at the respective ends of saidlarcuate members. The cables 10 and 11 'maybe secured by weldingT or any suitable` clamping means.v The cables 10 from the supports 8 and members 9 into the' body of water BEand form a track eiltend-v 1 designated as B and these cables are secured to anchoring stakes 1 12 disposed in deep water in the bottom lof (he body of water l?. The cables 10, preferably, are lied' together with U-shaped brace .members 13 extending beneath tbc same. and tension cables 144 are secured. to the cables 10 o r the members 13 and extend downwardly to anchoring stakes 15 disposed on the shore, these .anchoring cables preferiably being' provided with turn buckles. By means of the cables v14., the desircdtension can be given to the cables 10 and the lower portion of the cables I0 brought more. nearly into line with the surface of the water. The cables 11 extend downward away from the body of water B anchored to suitable bolts or stakes disposed in the bottom of a trough or a ueduct 16. The aquaduct 1 6 ei'xtends inwar from the blody of water B'and is curved, to aline with t e the cables 11. A platform between thes'lipportgnen 'wlichs supporti and have their lower ends bearings on the cross members supporting Vthe members 9." The shaft 24 also carries a sprocket 25 disposed centrally between the? supports Sand an endless chain 26 runs over and is driven by said sprocket. The

' chain` 26 has spaced links connected by cross pieces' 27 of appreciable length and said chain runs over supporting pulleys or sheaves 28 and a lower sprocket The sprocket 29 and the sheaves supporting the top run of chain 26 are so disposed that the top run of' said chain travels substantially parallel to the cables 11. A plurality of vertical supporting posts 30 -arranged 1n pairs support a pair of inclined spaced frame members 31 which are disposed a short'distance at each side and below the chain'26. Plates 32 of-considerably smaller width than the members 31 are secured to the inner side of said members adjacent the top edges thereof and form guiding means in the top run of chain 26. The frame members 31 have pivoted to their outer sldes by the pivots 33, swinging. arms 34, the upper ends ofwhich are beveled to extend in a line substantially normal to the upper run of chain 26. The arms 34 are adapted, when in .substantially vertical position, to engage stop blocks or members 35 also secured to the outer sides of the frame members 31. .i

The aqucduct 16, which, as stated. is in the shape ofi-a trough, may be made of wooden boards or concrete, as `shown, (see Figs. 4 and A boat 36 is provided and prei-v erably will be of a size capable of seating two persons. The said boat has secured thereto at its sides, inverted U-shaped brackets 37 in which are mounted 'shea've pulleys 37a. The shcave pulleys aie of special design and have very deep grooves therein and said pulleys form .supporting means or trucks adapted to run on the cables 1() and 11, The boa-t 36 also has secured at the bottom thereof a rack 38 having rearwai-illy` directed spaced and substantially pointed teeth forming a saw-toothed rack. l@aid boat is also provided with asteering rudder 39 adapted to be operated from the steering wheel 30"- disposed in convenient position for an operator sittingr on the front scat ol' the boat. Vhile said steering means may ho of any standard and suitable type, in the embodiment-of the invention illustrated, the same is shown as disposed at the'upwardly inclined front portion or prow ofthe boat. The boat 36 is adapted to move in the aqueduct 16 and to' be carried up on the cables 11 by the chain 26, as will be later described.

In order to maintain acurrent in the aqueduct 16 so that a boat 36 will travel therein without being propelled, a paddle wheel 40 is provided having an axle mounted in bearings carried by a pair of the posts 3 0, the lower portion of said paddle wheel being disposed in the aqueduet 16. The wheel 40 is thusldisposed beneath the track formed by the tables 11 and beneath the members 31. The axle of the wheel 40 carries a sprocket 41 driven'by an endless chain 42 passing over and driven from a sprocket 43. The sprocket 43 is carriedon a shaft 44, which shaft is mounted in suitable bearings carried on the supporting members 8 and is driven by a gear 45 secured thereto, which, in turn,

meshesl'with and is driven by a smaller gear 46 secured to the shaft 18. Parallel walls 47 are disposed at each side of the aqueduet 16 adjacent the Wheel 40 to prevent any water being splashed out o said'aqueduct.

In Fig. 6, a modifiedform of stop for the swinging arms 34 is shown. Instead of hav-v ing the blocks 35, the arms 34 have chains 48 secured tothe lower ends, which chains are .secured at their other ends to the sides of the members 31. It will be seen thatthe upper portion of thearms 34 can swing forwardly or to the left, as shown in Fig. 6, but cannotswing backwardly beyond their ver. tical position.

In operation, the motor 17 will be driven and the chain 26 will be traversed in the di rection indicated by the arrows in Figs. 2 und 4. The water wheel 40 will also be Vdriven in the direction indicatedv by thc arrows in Fig. 1. A current will thus be created and maintained in the aqueduet 16, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. persons using the device will step into the boat 36 at some point along the side of the aqueduct 16. The boat will be carried by the current around through said aqueduc-,t and willcome into aliiement with the track formed by e'ables 11. iAs the boat moves between the cables 11, the pins 27 on chain 26 will engage between the teeth of rack 38 and the boat will then be carried up along the cable 11, being supported thereon by the wheels 37, as shown in Fig. 4. As-the boat The boat is carried up onto 'and over the member 9 and is automatically released by chain 26 as the latter moves downward to sprocket The boat then is free and coasts down the track formed by the cables by gravity. The bo'at stays on the trackuntil it strikes the body of water B when it is projected outwardly along the surface of the water.

toward the 'aqueduct 16.

' for another trip. By the arrangement o f the track and aqueduct it will be seen that the boat ln'akes a continuous-circle and it is not necessary to reverse the direction of the rboat or of any of the mechanism. If desired, the boat can be rented to the pleasure seekers for a certain period and they can make repeated trips over the device without any help or attention from other parties. If desired,'he'avy boats can be used which will plungedown into and sink into the water, or comparatively atboats which will valso become submerged. Such crafts would be used 'by bathers and can be propelled back to thea ueduct 16 by the bathers.

From the va ove description it is seen that ap'plic'ant has provided a simple and ingenious amusement or pleasure device and one which will afford great entertainment and pleasure to a large number of people. By the use of the cables for the tracks a minimum amount of supporting structure is necessary and the device can be installed at comparatively small expense. The boat is securely held on the track by deep grooved sheaves and their brackets and there is no dangerous feature in the invention.

It will, of course, be understood, that various changes may be m'ade in the form, details, arrangement and roportions of the parts without departing rom the scop'e of applicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in such a' device as shown and described and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pleasure device having in combination, an elevated'support disposed adjacent a body of water, of 'a track extending up over said support and down into said water, an aqueduct leading from said body of water and alined with the end of 'said track which is disposed away from said body of water, a steerablc boat adapted to run on said track and move in said aqueduct, means lfor maintaining a current through said aqueduct, and 4means for' lifting the boat on' said track to said su port and automatically releasing Ithe same w 1ere'- by the boat will coast down 'the track into the water and may be steered back into the aqueduct so that a continuous round,

trip may be had,

' 2. A pleasure device adapted to be; disposed adjacent a body of water having in combination.' a pair of spaced supports. a

trackformed of spaced cables leading downward from said supports into said body of water, a. track leadingl downward from said supports away from said body of water. an aquaduct leading from said body of water and curved to aline with' said latter track and' extending between said supports back to said body of waiter, means'in said aqueduct 'for maintaining a'. current therein, a steerable boat having guiding and snpporting means for engaging said tracks and movable-through said aqueduct. means for propelling said boat upward along said latter track and releasing it for coasting movement down said first mentioned track whereby said boat can. move continuously in a circuit down said .iirst mentioned track into said body of water and be steered back to and carried through said aqueduct and up said last mentioned track. A

3. A pleasure device adapted to be disposed adjacent a body of water having in combination, a pair of s aced elevatedsupports, a convexly curve rigid member .,e-

lcured tothe top of each support forming a track section, of a track cablesecured to each endl of said members and forming tracks adapted tosupport a boat extending downward therefrom and from said s upports into said body of water and downward therefrom`and from said supports away from said body of water and a boat. having. means at each side adapted to reston said tracks and move up the track extending away from said body of water and down the track extending toward said body of water.

4. A leasure device adapted to be disposed at jacent a body of water having in combination, a pair of spaced elevated supports, a convexly curved rigid member secured to the top of each support forming a track section, of a track cable secured to each end of said members and forming tracks adapted to support a boat extending downward therefrom and from said supports into said body of water anddownward therefrom and from said supports away from said body of waiter, a platform secured to said supports beneath said curved track members, a motor carried on said platform, an endless chain driven from said motorand having its top run disposed substantially parallel to the track extending tracks adapted to support a boat extending downward therefrom and from said supportsinto said body of water and downward therefrom and from; said supports away from said body of water, an aqueduct extending from said body of water and curved to aline with said track extending away'from said body of water and between said supports back to said body of Water, a boat adapted to move in said aqueduct and on said track, means for ropelling said boaton the track extening away from said body of water, and means carried by said supports for operating said last mentioned means.

6. A pleasure device adapted to be disposed adjacent a body of water having in combination, spaced elevated supports, rigid convex track members secured to the track of each support, a track extending downward from each end of said members, res ectively, toward and away from said bo y of water, an endless chain adapted to move parallel to the track extending away from said body of water and comprisng spaced transverse pins, a boat movable' on said track, a saw-toothed rack ou the bottom of said boat adapted to be engaged by said pins whereby said boat will be propelled up said latter track and automatically freed to coast down the other track.

7. The structure set forth in claim 6,

spaced inclined rigid frame members eX-.

tending beneath said trackjextending away from said body of water, guiding means for said chain on said frame members, and arms pivoted to said frame members adapted to be swung by the upward passage of said. boat but preventing the downward movement of said boat on said track.

8. A pleasure device adapted lto be disposed adjacent a body of water having in combination, a pair of spaced elevated supports, a cable extending from each support downwardly into the water and forming a' ture.

HARRY AUPERL. 

